Scotch College

Now 95 years on …

The OSCA Council continues to work hard to ensure the Old Boys’ organisation adds value and remains relevant to its members.

OSCA is 95 this year, a mere five years away from celebrating its centenary in 2013. Milestones such as this provide an opportunity to remember and celebrate, as well as to reflect on the enormous contribution the Old Boys have made to the Scotch community.

Importantly, it provides a time to reflect on the role OSCA plays within Scotch; to question its direction; to assess its strengths and to focus its sights on the future, and how it can continue to be a value-adding and positive contributor to the Scotch Family.

The Old Boy joining OSCA in 2008 is very different to those joining 15, 30 and 45 years ago. It is time to take breath and ensure that OSCA is matching the needs of these diverse groups of Old Boys. The mix of culture, generation and tradition provides a potent set of ingredients that OSCA needs to balance very carefully to continue to hold its important position.

The newly formed Heritage Club is an initiative aimed at respecting our history, documenting it, collating it and ensuring that it is secure for future generations to access. The Scotch Archives and the possibility of a dedicated building to house them, as well as the Old Boys’ administration, is under consideration by OSCA as part of the overall building plans for the School.

Looking forward – and this is the key to our future viability – the role of our clubs and alumni groups is imperative. This is the main face-to-face contact that OSCA has with its members. Over 4,000 Old Boys meet in some form face to face each year, through events arranged by or through OSCA. This represents about 22 per cent of members. The introduction of appropriate new clubs, we believe, creates a platform to increase this percentage. New clubs in the process of being assessed include cycling and pipes and drums. The Council recently ratified the formation of a Past Staff Club as our newest affiliated club.

This year has started very positively, with celebrations shared with Geelong Grammar to celebrate the first game of APS cricket, and in fact the first game of APS sport. The Old Scotch Cricket Club celebrated its rejuvenation by winning the MCC Club XI competition. All other clubs have full calendars planned for the year. August will see a major celebration in conjunction with Melbourne Grammar to mark 150 years since the first game of Australian Rules football. This year’s Annual Dinner in August will also give Old Boys a chance to meet the new Principal, Tom Batty, who has agreed to speak at the dinner. Eminent historian Professor Geoffrey Blainey will be our guest of honour at this year’s Annual Dinner on Friday 22 August at Leonda.

The OSCA Council continues to work hard to ensure we add value and remain relevant to our members. We are very alert to these needs, and of providing service that is needed and appropriate. We welcome any feedback as we undertake this journey and review.

I hope to see you at an OSCA function in the near future. GS

Professor Geoffrey Blainey AC